Bobcat that attacked Holden man had rabies

HOLDEN — The bobcat involved in the attack of a Causeway Street man on Monday night tested positive for rabies, according to the state Department of Health.

Michael Votruba of 441 Causeway St. said he was able to fend off the bobcat, and eventually shot the animal several times until it died.

Mr. Votruba said he didn't feel as if he had been injured in the immediate aftermath; he had holes in his shirt, but his chest was not scratched. He had a scrape on his elbow. He said he went to UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus in Worcester, where he said he received seven rabies shots and a tetanus booster shot.

The Holden man got home from work Monday, got out of his pickup truck, and went back to the passenger side to grab his things when he saw an animal scurry across the yard and into a small passageway between the carport and his house.

This is the second rabid bobcat attack in the region this year. Roger Mundell Jr. was attacked at his home in Brookfield in January, suffering bites on his forehead and eyelids. After the animal bit Mundell's 15-year-old nephew, Mundell choked the animal, then retrieved a firearm and shot it to death. Tests on the cat later revealed it had been infected with rabies.

Despite the two recent attacks, state wildlife officials say it's extremely rare to see a bobcat because they tend to avoid humans.

"Bobcats are shy and secretive and they avoid people," said Tom O'Shea, assistant director of wildlife, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. "It's rare that bobcats show aggression to people."

Mr. Shea said that because of the attacks and what seems to be a growing bobcat population in the state, wildlife experts are watching and tracking trends, and collecting samples from the state lab. Federal wildlife officials estimate there are 1,200 to 1,300 bobcats in Massachusetts.

"It's hard to say for sure," Mr. Shea said. "The (bobcat) population has probably increased over the decade."

The best bobcat habitats are forests, swamps and brushy areas in the central and western parts of the state, Mr. Shea said, though he added that wildlife experts are hearing about more sightings in Eastern Massachusetts. Bobcats are most often seen at dusk and dawn.

"The best thing you can do is avoid them," Mr. Shea said. He said anyone who spots a bobcat out of its habitat should contact authorities.

"And anyone who is attacked by a bobcat should assume there is a high likelihood of rabies, and they should go get treatment," Mr. Shea said.